


when the sun came up you were looking at me

by syazzypanda



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: M/M, a very brief mention of suicide, boys in love trying to make sense of it all
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:55:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24684208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syazzypanda/pseuds/syazzypanda
Summary: "Wait, you kissed him?""It was a shit show. I'll explain later."It's later.
Relationships: Charlie St. George/Alex Standall
Comments: 26
Kudos: 254





	when the sun came up you were looking at me

**Author's Note:**

> Two fics?? In two days?? The last time I wrote like this I was in high school and still had motivation???
> 
> I'm still getting back into writing consistently, so my stories are still gonna be around this length until I can get that confidence back. There's so much about their relationship that I'd like to explore and so much I wish we'd seen that it keeps me up at night. 
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to read this.

After they managed to get Zach to down two cups of black coffee to sober up, after Zach crawled into the backseat of Charlie’s car and promptly fell asleep on the drive back to the hospital, after the sun swelled from a pinprick on the horizon into soft, golden rays of dawn (which framed his boyfriend’s profile in a truly magnificent way in the driver’s seat, Alex could still appreciate that despite having been awake for more than 24 hours now), after finally, finally getting Zach to see Justin and making their way back to Alex’s house a few hours later, after all that...

All things considering, Charlie could probably have held his tongue, at least until after they woke up from a well deserved nap. He thought he was doing a good job at keeping his emotions under wraps, if not just for Alex’s benefit.

“Are you still thinking about me kissing Zach?”

Apparently, he wasn’t as slick as he thought.

Alex rolled onto his side so that they were face to face on the bed, Charlie’s arm still anchored around his waist. “It’s hard to sleep with you staring at me like that.”

“Sorry,” Charlie’s lips turned upwards slightly into a sheepish grin, “Didn’t mean to keep you up.” He took a breath, “But yeah, I just… wasn’t expecting that? Or maybe I did. I don’t know. Zach’s like, very attractive and I know you guys are close. But we don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” 

Alex scooted impossible closer, sliding his leg against Charlie’s to tangle them under the sheets. “You don’t have to worry—” a yawn “—about it.” This time Alex hesitated, seeming to weigh his words before continuing: “I did have a crush on Zach a while back. He was there for me after my suicide attempt—” the arm around his waist tightened, and Alex wished that he didn’t have to bring it up just to spare the evident distraught on his boyfriend’s face, “—and I guess spending all that time together… he was so kind and patient with me, afterwards, you know? When I was recovering.” 

Charlie nodded, absentmindedly tracing his fingers across Alex’s lower back. He didn’t say anything, so Alex went on. “We were hanging out after winter break on some abandoned building, Zach’s idea,” he added in response to Charlie’s raised eyebrow, “and at one point I almost fell and he pulled me back, and I think it was the build up of everything, and I was trying to figure things out for myself too at the time. Then that happened. We were stunned but still laughing, and I just kissed him. He turned me down, and that was it. I should have told you, but it just never came up. I’m sorry.”

“No, no.” Charlie shook his head. “You don’t have to apologise. I-I’m glad he was there for you. Through everything.” He didn’t trust himself to say anything else, not out of jealousy, but the thought of a world without Alex in it was enough to make him physically sick. 

It must have shown on his face though, because Alex leaned in and gently met his lips in a kiss that positively made his toes curl. It was hard to be distraught when the most beautiful boy in the world was kissing you. Charlie felt himself relaxing against the kiss, the hand at Alex’s waist coming up to cradle the back of his neck. It was only from the need of oxygen that they pulled apart, and even then Charlie kept his hand dipped against the valley of his neck, his thumb gently grazing Alex’s jawline. 

“You’re a better kisser though.” Alex yawned again, “The best.”

“I’m confident that you’re telling the truth, but you don’t have to spare my feelings cause you’re _definitely_ the best kisser.” 

Charlie grabbed onto Alex’s hand and brought his knuckles to his lips. There was a sort of reverence to the gesture that made Alex’s chest swell. This is it. This is devotion. This is adoration. This is the tenderness that Alex had, for the longest time, thought he didn’t deserve. 

It was a good thing Charlie was so goddamn persistent. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! :)


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